Should I pay extra on my student loan or invest in a Roth IRA? Build up an emergency savings fund or pay off my credit card debt? Pay off my mortgage or put more money in my 401(k) retirement plan? In one form or another, the trending question lately has been, "Is it better to pay down debt or build up savings and investments?"
Like many real-life questions, the answer is not black and...

How much income tax you owe is depends on two things: 1) how much taxable income you have and 2) the tax rate applied to that income.
Taxes = Taxable Income x Tax Rate
Last month , I showed you how the new tax law will impact the calculation of your taxable income, as a result of numerous changes to deductions, ex...

For many people it may be obvious that by using your local library, you would save money, but many people don't even utilize their library! According to a 2016 Study on Libraries by the Pew Research Center , "just under half of all those age 16 and older (48 percent) say they have visited a public library…in person...

Now is when the holiday bills arrive and our budgets feel stretched! It's easy to feel overwhelmed by debt payments and end up avoiding them. But when you don't take control of your debt payments, the interest charges pile up – and grow and grow! Let's consider strategies to help take control of credit card bills.
First, get organized. Make a list of each credit card or...

Last August, I lost something very important to me – my wedding ring! I took it off to wash the dishes and when I went to find it the next morning, it was gone. I searched my trash can, recycle bins as well as all through the house. At first, I was really upset until I remember that we had insured it!
Insuring personal property isn't hard, but you have to remember to do it. Sometimes it...

As you're filling out your 2017 tax return, take the opportunity to think about how the new tax law will impact you for 2018 and beyond. To help, I've put together a list of the changes, organized by line number on the 1040 and Schedule A (Itemized Deductions). If you file the 1040A or 1040 EZ, your lines numbers will be different.
There's been a lot in the news about the changes, but i...

Happy New Year 2018! The New Year offers opportunities for a fresh start and new resolutions. As you reflect on possibilities, I encourage you to include investing in your personal finance as a high priority for 2018. We choose to do many things with our time and energy, and it's easy to let our finances become "another day" activity; however, time spent today will reap many benefits in the fut...